"Really? Who organized it?"
The old man said, "It's right in Black Stone Plaza. For the past month, people have been recruiting there every day. As for who they are, I'm not sure, but I advise you, Fellow Daoist, not to overexert yourself if you don't have the ability."
Li Feiyu cupped his hands and smiled slightly, "Thank you for your concern, shopkeeper. I'll take my leave now."
After he left, the old man muttered, "Who's concerned about you? Overestimating yourself, you deserve to die."
Li Feiyu arrived at Black Stone Plaza and saw the notice board, which clearly stated that the purpose of this trip was to hunt a seventh-grade Infant Carp Beast.
However, there were three groups doing this, and it was clear at a glance that the forces behind them were not small. It was likely that Nascent Soul Cultivators were in control.
Li Feiyu pondered for a while and then chose a team called the Cloud Sky Demon Beast Hunting Group.
"Fellow Daoist, do you want to participate in this Demon Beast hunting trip?" A Core Formation Early Stage middle-aged man looked up at Li Feiyu.
"A little interested," Li Feiyu nodded.
"Then please register your basic information, Fellow Daoist."
Li Feiyu used the alias Li Han, Core Formation Early Stage.
The middle-aged man roughly scanned him with his Divine Sense, confirmed that his Realm matched, and then said, "We are recruiting a total of twelve Core Formation stage Cultivators this time. Including the three original members of the Demon Beast Hunting Group, there will be a total of fifteen people."
"We will give each Core Formation Cultivator ten thousand Spirit Stones as remuneration. Besides the Infant Carp Beast, any other Demon Beasts killed will belong to whoever killed them. If it's a cooperative hunt, the spoils will be distributed according to contribution. Do you have any objections to this, Fellow Daoist?"
Li Feiyu said, "No."
"Alright, then. One and a half months from now, we will gather at the gate of Black Stone City."
Li Feiyu then left and wandered around Black Stone City.
The Sea Abyss, home to many Demon Beasts, was inherently fraught with danger. In the past, multiple Core Formation Cultivators would go out to hunt together; no Core Formation Early Stage Cultivator dared to go alone.
Now, with the Demon Beast riot, the danger in the Sea Abyss has increased significantly. Without seven or eight people or more, they usually wouldn't choose to go out to sea.
To gather fifteen Core Formation Cultivators before departing, one could imagine how difficult this Demon Beast hunting mission would be.
Li Feiyu rented a room in an inn in Black Stone City and quietly Cultivated for a month and a half, then headed to the gate of Black Stone City on the morning of the gathering day.
However, to his surprise, the three Demon Beast hunting groups appeared at the city gate simultaneously, as if they had agreed to depart together.
Over forty Core Formation Cultivators was indeed a considerable number. Fortunately, the three teams did not travel together but headed in different directions.
Li Feiyu speculated that they, too, were uncertain of the exact location of the seventh-grade Infant Carp Beast, which was why they acted this way.
He honestly followed the team, posing as an ordinary Core Formation Early Stage Cultivator, occasionally chatting with those around him about gossip and interesting anecdotes.
The strongest member of the Cloud Sky Demon Beast Hunting Group was a Core Formation Late Stage Cultivator. He was one of the three original members of the Demon Beast Hunting Group, but he had also restrained his Qi, making people think he was Core Formation Middle Stage. As for the other two, one was Core Formation Middle Stage, and the other was Early Stage.
All the other recruits were Core Formation Early Stage Cultivators.
After entering Core Formation, Cultivation growth would become increasingly slow, and Breakthroughs through the Bottlenecks of each minor Realm would become increasingly difficult. Many who managed to enter Core Formation by chance might be trapped in Core Formation Early Stage for their entire Lifespan.
"There's a group of Demon Beasts ahead: one sixth-grade, five fifth-grade. Everyone, be careful."
Hearing the words of the Core Formation Late Stage old man, who had hidden his Realm, everyone became vigilant, spreading their Divine Sense and watching every movement around them.
"This truly is a blessed land!"
It wasn't that Li Feiyu had never hunted Demon Beasts in the Outer Star Sea, but the Outer Star Sea was vast and boundless. Although Demon Beasts were countless, they were not easily encountered, especially high-grade Demon Beasts.
This wave was a small-scale one. Not long after, they encountered over a hundred third and fourth-grade Demon Beasts, plus seven or eight fifth and sixth-grade Demon Beasts.
After a bitter battle, many were injured.
They finally rested for a day or two before continuing their advance.
Whether fighting and advancing or concealing their traces, they stayed in the Sea Abyss for over a month.
The deeper they went, the greater the chance of encountering danger. Some people in the team even began to complain, thinking that the Infant Carp Beast might have already left this sea area.
Then, on the third day, they heard cries similar to those of human infants. In such deep sea, it was, of course, impossible for human infants to appear, so everyone's faces showed joy.
The Core Formation Late Stage old man said, "The Infant Carp Beast is about seven or eight li away. Everyone, pay attention. Don't alert it."
One person beside him said, "Elder, we are really lucky to have discovered the Infant Carp Beast's tracks first."
"Don't be careless. Although the other two groups agreed to depart at the same time and in different directions, they didn't agree that they couldn't change direction after departing. So, we can't say there's no chance of encountering the other two groups."
Subsequently, the Core Formation Late Stage old man transmitted a message to everyone, telling them to spread out and surround the Infant Carp Beast, slowly closing in to form a pincer attack.
In the sea, their speed was, after all, not as good as that of Demon Beasts, so such an approach was perfectly normal.
On Li Feiyu's ordinary face, a pair of ordinary eyes suddenly shone with a brilliant light, becoming full of wisdom.
Now that the Infant Carp Beast had been found, he was considering whether to make a move and eliminate these Core Formation Cultivators.
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly discovered that on their periphery, a large group of fifth-grade Demon Beasts and above were approaching.
The Core Formation Late Stage old man hadn't noticed, but Li Feiyu's Divine Sense was many times stronger than his. In his Divine Sense perception, a faint sense of oppression emanated from deep behind the Infant Carp Beast.
"Something that threatens me must be a Transformed Yao Cultivator. Could this be a trap?"
"A Transformed Yao Cultivator using a seventh-grade Infant Carp Beast as bait. It seems he harbors great hatred for humans."
Li Feiyu stroked his chin, thinking silently. Even a Transformed Demon Beast wouldn't easily attack human islands guarded by Nascent Soul Cultivators, which was why it used this method to vent its anger.
"Forget it. Since someone is acting on my behalf, there's no need for me to do anything extra."
Li Feiyu didn't want to cause too much commotion at this moment. He had accumulated enough Lifespan, and he had many Magic Treasures. The most important thing now was the great task of forming a Nascent Soul, to quickly gather the Advancement Nascent Pill Formula and the Nine Revolutions Spirit Ginseng Pill Formula, which was the right path.
"Consider yourselves lucky."
Li Feiyu smiled slightly, activating the effect of his seamless clothes and completely eliminating his own Qi.
He was confident that even that Transformed Demon Beast wouldn't be able to discover him, and he could take advantage of the chaos to freeze the Infant Carp Beast, take it away, and then kill it.
Soon, the others also realized that they hadn't surrounded the Infant Carp Beast; instead, they were surrounded by a large group of high-grade Demon Beasts.
Their faces were all grave, and the Magic Treasures around them emitted a faint glow, as if they were ready to erupt at any moment and break out of the Demon Beast encirclement.
The Core Formation Late Stage old man glanced at the Infant Carp Beast not far away and gritted his teeth, "This is a trap! Only a Transformed Demon Beast could do such a thing. Everyone, quickly break out, otherwise, once the Transformed Demon Beast arrives, our chances of survival will truly be slim!"
At such a time, everyone was concerned about themselves, and no one noticed that one person was inexplicably missing from the team.
"Don't you think it's too late to try and leave now?"
The Transformed Yao Cultivator, hidden behind the scenes, appeared. He had a green turtle shell face and an unusually tall stature.
Before a Demon Beast reaches the Transformed Stage, it will undergo a Lightning Tribulation. After passing it, it can shed its form and transform its body, partially transforming into human form. As its Cultivation deepens, the humanization of the Demon Beast will gradually increase.
At the late stage of Transformation, which is the level of a tenth-grade Demon Beast, it is said that the Demon Beast will become indistinguishable from a human.
"A Turtle Demon Beast?"
"Could it be the one Han Li once encountered?"